For years, the question of whether or not Henry Cavill would return to the role of Superman has been floated around, and after his appearance in the end-credit scene of Black Adam, it looked like he was back in. Sadly, that doesn’t seem to be the case anymore, as the new co-CEO of DC Studios, James Gunn, has just confirmed on Twitter that plans for a Superman movie are in the works, but that Cavill won’t be donning the cape for the project.
Gunn started things off with an announcement that he and fellow co-CEO, Peter Safran, have a slate ready to go, which will be shared after the new year, but went on to say “Among those on the slate is Superman. In the initial stages, our story will be focusing on an earlier part of Superman’s life, so the character will not be played by Henry Cavill.”
Among those on the slate is Superman. In the initial stages, our story will be focusing on an earlier part of Superman's life, so the character will not be played by Henry Cavill.
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) December 15, 2022
He continued by saying “But we just had a great meeting with Henry and we’re big fans and we talked about a number of exciting possibilities to work together in the future.”
But we just had a great meeting with Henry and we’re big fans and we talked about a number of exciting possibilities to work together in the future.
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) December 15, 2022
Henry Cavill even confirmed it on his Instagram account.
Now, does this mean he could play Superman in the future? I doubt it. It feels more like they want to keep this great actor around, but will end up putting him in a different role. With this news, perhaps that rumor of Jason Momoa no longer being Aquaman, and instead being courted to play Lobo, holds a bit more truth than we thought.
James Gunn did say that this story of Superman’s earlier life will not be an origin story, which should makes fans happy, at least. And he even added that they’ve met with Ben Affleck, who still wants to direct something in the DC universe.
Met with Ben yesterday precisely because he wants to direct & we want him to direct; we just have to find the right project. https://t.co/Haz1APdlVN
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) December 15, 2022
No matter what happens, it seems Gunn and Safran have an interesting plan, and I, for one, am excited to find out what it is.
Stay tuned to DC Comics News for more updates!